Jan Vertonghen leaves spurs as a free agent
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An upgrade over Rojo, nothing more nothing less.
Absolutely not.
Fantastic player for us over the years, top pro also. I wish him well wherever he ends up though I doubt it will be in the Premiership - I'd guess a return to Holland could be on the cards, alternatively I think he would still be great in a league like Italy.
I would absolutely take him for free.
Nothing to lose, tonnes of experience.
We do need a speedy CB though, so he might not be the right option to play alongside Maguire, but to perhaps rotate.
He'd do very well in Italy.
Nothing to lose, tonnes of experience.
We do need a speedy CB though, so he might not be the right option to play alongside Maguire, but to perhaps rotate.
He'd do very well in Italy.
Not for us. He's past his best and probably slower than our existing options at CB.
One of the best signings in the last decade.
I tell you what...if we could get rid of Rojo and Jones I would absolutely take him on a free. He would be better cover. We still need a much better centre half but I think he would be much better cover than what we currently have.
Probably worth as a punt for squad depth. He's far less injury prone than our backups, isn't he?
Juve or Inter, maybe.
Us? No, ta.
Us? No, ta.
An empty squad no. is an upgrade over Rojo.
No chance we are going near him. Before OGS he’s exactly the sort of overpayed, past it player we would have been in for. Not now.
No. You sign players who you believe are good enough to be first choice and either allow them or others to fall down the pecking order.
Signing senior players for depth who you know are not good enough to be first choice is usually a waste of resource and leads to your squad getting worse long term.
Signing senior players for depth who you know are not good enough to be first choice is usually a waste of resource and leads to your squad getting worse long term.
At his peak an excellent CB. Never quite in the world class category for the RM's/Barca's of the world, but a stalwart for Spurs over the years. Was a time there under Pochettino Alderweireld and Vertonghen made up arguably the best defensive CB partnership in the league.
Back to Ajax? To Italy?
Back to Ajax? To Italy?
Definitely fits the profile of a signing Conte's Inter would make, especially considering they don't really have a left sided CB for that back three.
Should have bought him when he was at Ajax, he was a sure thing to be top class. Now is too late.
Italy would be perfect for him for a couple of years.
Italy would be perfect for him for a couple of years.
If we’re looking for someone to compete with our current CBs for a spot, then no.
If we’re looking for a cheap temporary solution to add experience and depth at CB (provided he’s happy to be bench player) while giving us the opportunity to lay off players that are never available and constantly injured (Rojo, Jones, Bailly)... then we could do a lot worse.
The question is how much of a priority the CB position is for expensive reinforcements this summer.
If we’re looking for a cheap temporary solution to add experience and depth at CB (provided he’s happy to be bench player) while giving us the opportunity to lay off players that are never available and constantly injured (Rojo, Jones, Bailly)... then we could do a lot worse.
The question is how much of a priority the CB position is for expensive reinforcements this summer.
No you don’t, that’s absurd. Clubs sign players for depth only all the time. City and Liverpool have done heaps of that in recent years and it’s paid great dividends for them.
What’s the difference between Ighalo on loan for a year or two or Vertonghen as free agent for the same period of time? Did we get Ighalo to be first choice too or is there a difference in how you see things just because it’s a loan instead of “permanent” signing.
How has he been performing when played this season?
Big difference, a player like Vertonghen will want to go somewhere a be first choice, at least for next season and will want a minimum of 2 years contract maybe three.
Ighalo knee he would be a back up, Vertonghen is not a back up player. He would cost far too much over the length of his contract.
If we are talking about depth options, and I agree not every player needs to be a nailed on starter, then someone like Ake would be a far better option.
How do you know that, are you itk? Plenty of players are quite happy to be bench at that age, so long as they have a good contract and collect a decent paycheck. Hell, plenty of players are happy to be squad players even at their peak.
Ighalo is reportedly on £160-180k pw to be a backup and that's not a problem it seems. You're certain that Vertonghen wouldn't be happy with that money over couple of years? If so, where does this certainty stem from?
Ake would cost a lot more money upfront than Vertonghen. Even if Vertonghen was paid 80k more pw, that's only about ~4m more per year, when Ake would cost £35m upfront. Money that is probably prioritised for elsewhere this summer.
Although I'm not a fan of it. If Ole is going to turn to 3 at the back for certain games. I'd rather have him as the LCB for a season than anyone else we currently have.
Mourinho could do with an experienced CB, should definitely sign him up.
It depends on what his aims are. People are assuming he is just looking for a big pay-packet, which may not be the case. There a lot of other reasons why he may have wanted to leave Tottenham: to play CL football; to try something different (league or club); to live in another city/country.
I wouldn't rule out signing him. If we cannot afford to sign a defender along with Sancho, or there is no one really available, Vertonghen could be a smart signing if circumstances are right.
I wouldn't rule out signing him. If we cannot afford to sign a defender along with Sancho, or there is no one really available, Vertonghen could be a smart signing if circumstances are right.
No,he has looked extremely heavy-legged at times this year and I think the pace of the PL has been catching up with him and Aldo for atleast 2 campaigns now.
The circumstances will only be improved if we buy him new legs.
He left because his play time was limited. So why’s he going to join us to sit on our bench?
Which youth? The only relative youth we have capable enough is Tuanzebe, and he's also injured all the time. Plus he's likely to be part of the squad anyway. If we offload Rojo/Jones there's plenty of space for an experienced CB considering how cursed Tuanzebe and Bailly are with injuries.
It’s an opinion, no one is ITK!
Anyone, MY OPINION he’s that he’s completely the wrong profile of player we are looking for, and would be a waste of money. We need younger, hungry players at CB, we do not need anyone coming for their last big contract - we have enough wasters in that department in Rojo, Jones and Bailly.
It doesn’t take someone ITK to see that this is a transfer that’s extremely unlikely even to be considered by Man Utd.
Good but not the top quality we need. Too slow. Rarely tries a long ball (less than 2 per game) but his pass completion rate is only 83%. I'd rather we play Mengi when our other CBs are injured.
Again; young, hungry and talented players cost a lot of money. We might not have that luxury this summer. If Vertonghen is considered it will only be as a stop-gap while prioritise funds elsewhere. I'd rather pay salary on him than Rojo and Jones who are never there to play anyway.
Also, it wouldn't be a transfer it'd be a free agent signing. The club just gave Matic 3 years instead of letting him go as free agent, which shows Ole values experience and recognises value for money. He didn't go and splash +50m on a new DM, which is what everyone is advocating for, because there are other priorities and there was no guarantee an expensive young DM would work out either.
Edit: I'm merely saying it's no as clear cut as people make it sound. I'm not saying we should sign him. There might be better options out there. But he's not a bad short term back up.
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I'm not sure City have done that at all. I don't recognise any signings there that they would have made with that mindset. Liverpool have admittedly signed a couple of players like Minamino and Shaqiri, but I think that reveals more about their lack of budget after frontloading their spending, than signings that actually improve them. I'm not sure Minimino and Shaqiri have really done anything to make Liverpool stronger, which kind of proves my point. Everyone else they signed in the last three years was signed with the expectation of them holding down a first team place longer term.
Ighalo's a signing you only feel obliged to make when you have messed up your recruitment in previous transfer windows. We've already seen his limitations and how he basically has played no real role in our league run in. He doesn't improve our squad long term and was there as injury cover.
United would be pretty stupid to chuck a big contract at a player like Vertonghen when he might only be fifth choice if Smalling returns. If United are to sign a new centre back, they sign a world class defender, or someone on the cusp of being world class, who they think can dislodge Lindelof or even Maguire long term, not someone to slot in behind those two.
Good call. For Vertonghen to stay at the top level it needs to be into a role like that which will still play to his strengths.
He had plenty of strengths at his peak though, one of the stronger centre-halves the Premier League has seen and arguably the best left-footed one.
Slower than Maguire
Impossible. Would have loved Vertonghen here five years ago, a player that could have experienced so much more glory had he never signed for the wrong club. Eight seasons at Spurs and not a single trophy to show for it.Surprised he didn't play more last season. Perhaps a return to Ajax?
Interested what Spurs do at CB next season. Still remember Dier-Sanchez at Sheffield United which was a hilarious 90 minutes viewing. Toby is still alright but getting on himself.
Interested what Spurs do at CB next season. Still remember Dier-Sanchez at Sheffield United which was a hilarious 90 minutes viewing.
Toby is still alright but getting on himself.Just realised we are still stuck with him
I'll refresh your memory: Demichelis, Sagna, Danilo, Delph, Gundogan, Bony, Caballero, Angelino, Nolito... I could go on.
Ageing player, big contract, best days behind him? Nah, you're alright
Danilo is the only one of those who has been signed in the last three years and was done so with the expectation of being good enough, but has disappointed. Angelino was essentially a loan recall to sell at profit and cover an injury. In recent years now they have a squad already, they sign players they expect to hold down a place in the first team.
It's good thing then time doesn't start in the last 3 years, isn't it? Try shifting the goalposts harder. And Danilo was signed 100% as a cover for Walker and Mendy due to his versatility.
I find the view that City haven't signed squad players, purely for depth, with little to no chance of them dislodging others from the starting XI quite laughable really.
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